Private labels will pose a "serious challenge" to brands in Saudi Arabia by 2009, according to Adham Junaidallah, executive vice president-support of Riyadh-based Al Othaim Markets, the second largest retailer after Panda in the Kingdom.

The UAE’s Ministry of Health will not add a warning label to a pharmaceutical drug that may increase the risk of cancer. The refusal follows a ruling by US authorities that the drug should carry a ‘black box’ warning — the strongest carried by medicines in the US.